Electronic auctions have become increasingly popular. Typically, a computer user may access an electronic auction site and browse for items that may be of interest. When the user finds an item of interest, the user may place a bid on the item. At the same time other users may also be interested in placing bids on the same item. In this scenario, an auction may ensue in which multiple users may bid against each other for the same desired item.
In the typical electronic auction, the individual users connect to the auction site via a network connection, i.e., the Internet. The auction site may display various items for sale such that any of the users, after connecting to the auction site via the internet, may determine which items are desired. After a user determines which item is desired, the user may place a bid on the selected item in an attempt to purchase the item.
However, if a user is not connected to the internet, the user may not participate in the auction. For example, if a user does not subscribe with an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the user would be unable to connect to the network (Internet) and would therefore be unable to access the auction website. In this way, the user would be unable to browse the available inventory on the auction web site and would also be unable to participate in the auction.
Also, a user would have to identify a desired item for purchasing prior to bidding on the item. If the user is unable to identify the item on the website, he/she would also be unable to bid on the item. For example, the user may browse the auction website but may not readily find any items to purchase. However, certain items that are of interest to the user may be present on the auction website even though the user is unable to identify the items. This may be a result of a variety of causes. For example, the user may be using search terms that are different from the auction website. Also, the user may be searching for particular items but may not be actively searching for other items that may also be of interest to the user. In this case, the user would be unable to participate in an auction for items that would have been of interest.